This new “Offerings” interview with Spencer Hamilton is guaranteed to open up a diverse array of avenues to explore. Read on to find out what skate video, album, book, and movie he recommended, and check in with one of Canada’s finest…
words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Spencer Hamilton at home in Vancouver. PH: Tracy Giesz-Ramsay
Our paths last crossed with Spencer Hamilton when a Supra tour swept through town back in 2019, and it was a pleasure to meet him. We had a brief talk outside our old Covent Garden shop about his trip so far which quickly segued into nutrition, and yoga before the team were moved on to Southbank. Spencer became animated as soon as those topics arose. With that quick chat as a reference, I was sure he would greet one of these interviews with the same enthusiasm, and was proved right as he swiftly responded with the interesting selection you’ll learn more about below.
There is something in the water out in Ottowa. Canada’s capital has produced a long line of incredible talent, and Spencer plays a significant part in that lineage. Although he has relocated to Vancouver he continues to represent by crafting parts on home turf, promising us more footage filmed on the BC streets in the not-so-distant future. His skateboarding is a high-grade blend, fusing his technical prowess with an aptitude for gnarlier terrain, a combination that makes him one of our favourites to watch. Interestingly his approach can be traced back to two specific videos that made an impact on his young mind, something which is acknowledged below.
Our conversation delves into the influences that left an indelible mark on Spencer’s psyche at various stages in his journey, starting when skateboarding first entered his life. There is a heavy amount of appreciation for The Chocolate Tour, a video with an enduring appeal that means it is still often referenced today. Anyone who took this in at the time will attest that this taste-maker made a heavy dent on our skateboarding subconscious. Spencer’s film choice involves Will Smith playing Muhammad Ali, a tale which captivated him at a time when he was building his first comprehensive part, this Michael Mann production continues to resonate today. He selected a Pink Floyd album from 1975 that helped soundtrack another formative period in his life, and opened up his continued musical exploration. Finally, his literary choice dismantles the old adage of never discussing politics or religion by doing just that, encouraging us to make space for the beliefs of others in an attempt to understand alternative perspectives.
Some things changed for Spencer since his last trip to Slam, while lockdown slowed the roll of most, he was welcomed to the Primitive team, and also became a member of the New Balance Numeric squad. One thing that hasn’t changed is the consistent flow of flawless tech he gifts the community, long may it light up our devices. If you have read or watched any interviews with Spencer you will know that he is a great communicator with strong, well-informed opinions about many things outside of the skateboarding sphere. We’re glad that this conversation managed to tap into that. We hope you enjoy the read, and emerge with some recommendations to pursue.
The Chocolate Tour – Chocolate Skateboards (1999)
What was happening in your world when you first saw this?
I was living in Ottawa, and I remember going to the premiere for this, it was at a little bar in the market. As with most premieres I don’t really remember watching the video, I would have been nine or ten at the time. It was a cool experience though, it may have been the first premiere I ever went to. I saw all of the old guys from my community there, Wade [Desarmo] was there, and his older crew of friends, they were all ledge skaters who had a style that I looked up to. I remember seeing them doing some tricks outside afterwards, and just marvelling at a different type of world that was opening up. At that point you were exposed to a lot less, you’d see a new video once in a while, and what was happening at your local park.
So you bought the video after this?
My dad got this for me, I can’t remember if it was a Christmas gift or not. My older brother skated too, and I remember him being over the moon to get that. I watched it on repeat basically.
How long had you been skating for when you first saw this?
I had been skating for a few years, I actually think I was sponsored at the time by the skate shop I still ride for which is called Top Of The World. That would have been a recent development, within the same year of that coming out.
There was a lot of expectation following MOUSE. Do you remember the anticipation of this coming out?
It was such a different time, we just had a premiere at a local bar but promoting that event seemed very important. I’m not sure I had even seen a skateboard magazine so this was opening the door to a new world of people. What was really cool was the skits, seeing all these people, and then over time figuring out who they were. Those skits were an interesting puzzle for a kid, learning about the importance of different people over time. I didn’t know who Mark Gonzales was when I first saw the video, it took a certain amount of time to figure that out, but when I did it was awesome, identifying Mark Gonzales or Tony Ferguson.
Were you aware of Tony Ferguson’s legacy in any way as a fellow Canadian?
At that point I don’t think so. I would have been aware of Rick McCrank which was neat, he didn’t have a huge section in that but what he did have was awesome, he was having a moment. It wasn’t until later on that I realised Tony was from here, he’s actually from Ottawa as well, he’s from my hometown. Rick McCrank would have been more of a household name, especially right then.
Was there a specific part you rinsed?
I used to watch Stevie [Williams]’ part religiously. Style, tricks, music, the whole thing. Gino [Iannucci]’s part as well for the same reasons. For me, a great video part has to have great music, and The Chocolate Tour had a lot of songs that I liked which went well with the skating. Gino, and Stevie’s parts were standout, the whole package. Mike Carroll, and Richard Mulder too, their parts are so memorable, the tracks, and the skating, I just fucking loved them.
“For me, a great video part has to have great music, and The Chocolate Tour had a lot of songs that I liked which went well with the skating”
That Stevie Williams part is such a special moment in time, it was so exciting that he was just on that company, and then the part was incredible.
It was oozing with style, and to have last part in a video of that calibre. His part was one for sure that I rewound, and rewatched the most. It was special, and then years later I find myself on on a trip with him. He’s a super nice guy. Such a trip, Rick McCrank, and Tony Ferguson are also people who I see often enough, who are super standup guys too.
Can you think of a standout trick?
Tony Ferguson’s backside flip fakie 5-0 on the bump to bench was insane, he did it so good. At the time my brain wasn’t even comprehending what that was. I loved switch back heels, and always loved Daniel Castillo’s switch back heel-manny, the one he 180’s out of.
Then Stevie’s ender, the switch heel-switch nose manny-fakie hardflip. He does a fakie hardflip out of a Manny up the pad at the Pier but the one he does down it with the switch heel. I remember thinking what the fuck did I just see? Certain tricks, everyone has a hardflip now but back then, what I was seeing as far as people I was skating with, people weren’t doing fakie hardflips. There’s a bunch of shit in that video I had never seen before.
Is there anything you do today you can directly contribute to this video? A trick in here you’ll always think of as the perfect example?
I think subconsciously it influenced the way I skate, ledge to stair combos, or up stairs to ledge combos. I’m not sure I went out there trying to do that but subconsciously it embedded that into my head, and my skating. Watching that video now it’s obvious to me that it’s a blueprint for how I skate. As far as one trick specifically, not so much. There are a lot of switch heels, and nollie heels in there, and those tricks took me a long time to learn. It wasn’t until I started wearing cupsole shoes that I figured them out, and I only started wearing cupsole shoes about seven or eight years ago. My entire life skateboarding I had a hard time doing switch or nollie heelflips but I could do switch backside heelflips which I always felt gave me a commonality with Daniel Castillo.
I was always into board feel so for years I loved Vulc shoes. Then a friend of mine broke down his theory for me. You get ultimate board feel with Vulcanised shoes but because you feel it more you can try a little bit less when it comes to flicking. With cupsoles you feel the board less so you have to try more, put a little more oomph into it. For myself, generally, more shoe is better, less shoe equals a terrible heelflip. It’s the size of the shoe, and the extra effort you put in combined. I also found my kicklfips improved with a cupsole just because I’m trying a bit harder. That was a bit of an epiphany to have after fifteen years of skating.
I mentioned the trick example because when I visited Pyramid ledges with my friends we wouldn’t leave until we had all done nollie heelflips on the bricks humming the “duh duh der” GZA intro.
Haha, of course! It’s one of those videos that embeds those iconic spots like Pyramid ledges or Pier 7. I remember going to Pyramid ledges in my teens and it’s like Mecca, in some religious way you’re on holy ground. Especially at the start when he does the nollie heel, and then cruises around the corner. I recreated that movement with the song in my head when I went there too for sure. At this point thousands of skaters have been there, and done the same thing. Was he filming that line with any notion of it becoming iconic? I’m sure he didn’t even like it, I don’t know. It’s so funny with stuff like that. His switch 180 in the line after he kickflips up the stairs before doing a backside nollie heelflip. He does that switch 180 where his front foot kind of comes off, a trick he probably didn’t like that becomes an absolute fan favourite.
The line that inspired many turn ups. Did any music in here open up avenues of exploration?
At ten with no internet my musical exposure was pretty low. I had two older brothers, and my parents, I don’t think there was a lot of rap going on in our house. There was definitely a bunch of stuff in there that I had never heard before like Andre Nickatina, or Stevie’s Big L track. Then even some of the softer songs, in the credits there’s a Cat Stevens song, and a John Lennon song. My middle brother is in the film industry, and is definitely the artistic, creative one in our family. He didn’t skate but really enjoyed all that stuff too, the combination of skating and music. Not only does that embed songs in your mind in a way that few other things can do, but it also exposes you to a lot of different genres, and artists. Movies can have a similar effect but skateboarding draws from a very diverse mix of genres.
“any skater who has watched Girl or Chocolate videos, you’ll hear a certain song in a grocery store and it just hits you”
We’re lucky, Girl video soundtracks especially were always very eclectic.
Yeah, any skater who has watched Girl or Chocolate videos, you’ll hear a certain song in a grocery store and it just hits you.
At this time were Girl and Chocolate boards on the top of your list?
Absolutely, I remember skating a Mike Carroll board, and a Stevie [Williams] board too. I mostly got shop boards from Top Of The World but they were really good for occasionally letting us get some pro boards. I was a little kid, another big video premiere was Thrill Of It All, that’s a pretty good contrast, maybe a Yin to the Yang, or Yang to the Yin. So I was definitely inspired equally by that, I like jumping off stuff so I really liked the vibe Zero had in that video. It made an impact, years later it’s no surprise I skate the way I do with those two videos playing a major role early on.
Top Of The World is the best sponsor you could have in Canada right?
Oh my god, especially at that time, the team was incredible. Ottawa is not a particularly good city to skate in, it was okay, one of it’s biggest strengths is that it’s close to Montreal, close to Toronto, and somewhat close to New York. The team list included Wade Desarmo, Paul Trep, Gaileau [Momulu], Wade Fyfe, and Mike Fyfe, Joe Buffalo, Richard Sarrazin, there were so many skaters. Obviously Tony Ferguson, and Rick McCrank were also from Ottowa but had moved out West long before. Growing up at the time there were so many good people on that team, it was a legit high calibre, not just a couple of hometown heroes who were okay, everyone on that team was really good.
It was quite something to grow up around that, these guys were good but they knew what was cool, they were willing to give me some time and encourage me in the right direction. They taught me what to do, and what not to do, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that. Top Of The World was something else, I got the call after a contest asking if I would ride for them. I remember going in and being given a deck, some wheels, a bunch of stickers. I was looking at this huge stack of stickers like they could be dollar bills. I’d get a board every month, wheels when I needed them. It was real support, they had my back with whatever I needed. A few months earlier I was going in there with my board asking them to re-grip it on top of the old grip, hahaha.
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (1975)
When did you first hear this album?
I was living at a skate house that I moved into in about 2010. I have always been into music, as I said it kind of started with getting exposed to a bunch of different music from skate videos. That for sure sparked an interest, and a craving for new music. I got a laptop in my late teens, things started to snowball once you could go online and look for music. I was really into rap, I was a big fan of the Diplomats, Cam’Ron, and Juelz Santana who had a lot of music containing samples. That got me into oldies from the 50s and 60s, Motown, and other stuff. That was my early interest, and exposure of going from rap to the samples, and learning about older music.
When I was younger alternative rock bands were around like Green Day or Nirvana, I listened to that stuff a bit, but it didn’t last for me very long. When I moved into the skate house one of my housemates had quite a depth of knowledge when it came to classic rock stuff, we had a good sound system there too. That exposed me to a lot of new music. At the time we were in our early twenties, going out drinking like you do at that age. We were smoking weed, experimenting with psychedelics, and finding this overwhelming euphoric feeling, especially from this album.
So the perfect soundtrack to this time in your life.
Yeah, the experimentation with different sounds, the unpredictable nature of how the songs were formatted. I had never heard anything like it, the length of some of the songs made them memorable. “Shine on you Crazy Diamond” bookends the album, it’s two parts. It’s full of eery sounds, there are peaks, and valleys throughout it. They hit different to anything else I had ever heard before on a pretty deep level. Certain substances played their own part in this I’m sure, but like any piece of art, the first time you’re hearing it has such a different effect to the 100th time you hear it. It was the perfect storm, the ultimate experience for an induction into Pink Floyd.
“I was feeling new things, and hearing sounds I had never heard before, it took me on a total journey”
I was feeling new things, and hearing sounds I had never heard before, it took me on a total journey. At that time in my life I was doing whatever I wanted, skating all the time, going to parties. I’d spend a lot of time when I wasn’t doing those things dabbling with psychedelics, going on long walks, cruising around my neighbourhood on a cruiser board with my friends, and listening to all of these songs on a speaker or on the headphones. I don’t want to necessarily encourage people to do psychedelics, that’s not my point here. But at this point, that was what I was doing, and I couldn’t think of a better album to choose, it made a lasting impact on me.
Do find time to listen to this album now?
No, not so much, at this point with having a kid, most of what I listen to right now is kids music. If I’m by myself oldies are always around, the thing with Pink Floyd is you need to be in the right spot, at the right time. It’s not the type of music you listen to with your wife and kid. For me it’s always been a little bit more of a personal thing that puts you in a place which is not necessarily right now for me. If I were to go on a long bike ride or a run that’s where I’ll probably get back to it. Like most albums there’s an interesting story behind it. I’ve seen some documentaries, and interviews about making it.
Are you a Syd Barrett fan?
This may be sacrilege but I’m less of a fan of him than I am of later Pink Floyd. He was obviously a mastermind who influenced them a lot. Dark Side of the Moon is after Syd Barret left, the band were trying to find their voice, their rhythm, and where they want to go. Wish You Were Here follows that. Most people are lucky to do one great thing in their lives, if that’s a book, or an album. To make one is incredible, so to make a masterpiece like Dark Side of the Moon, recalibrate, and come out with another masterpiece like Wish You Were Here is just extraordinary. To have that album be similar enough, yet different enough at the same time. Roger Waters wrote such simple but profound lyrics that could speak to everybody some way. That coupled with David Gilmour’s guitar is such a complete package, an ultimate experience in music.
Do you have a favourite Pink Floyd skate video appearance? There have been quite a few.
I don’t know about that. I can think of a couple but I find with certain songs, and music that I really like that I got into without skateboarding. I don’t want to associate them with skateboarding, I don’t want to associate Pink Floyd with skating. So no, not really, hahaha. When Plan B came out with that Superfuture video after relaunching there’s an epic part that uses “Time”. I always joked about coffee and Bailey’s, or orange juice and Vodka. I don’t like mixing alcohol with drinks that I like on their own. You’re bound to have skaters that you really like, you don’t want to see them paired up with a song that you really don’t. Or there may be a skater you don’t like so much, and you don’t want to see them skate to a song you love.
Do you collect music?
Oh yeah, both on my computer, and on vinyl. I have most Pink Floyd albums on vinyl, that definitely makes the experience all the more special, to be listening to the album on a really good sound system, as intended. The flow of the album too, songs like “Have a Cigar”, it’s hard to put your finger on how it makes you feel but it transports you to somewhere else, like an out of body experience. What is going on here? It hits everyone different, for some people it’s Jimi Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin. I like those guys too but for whatever reason Pink Floyd stand out for me. So many different themes are explored from album to album. There’s so much depth to their music, the sounds they used, the eery vibes they explored, and incredible guitar. It’s just great.
Ali – Michael Mann (2001)
Was it hard to pick a film, is this a new favourite or a frequently rewatched one?
I don’t think there’s any movie that I have watched more than this one. It’s a go to when I’m looking for some entertainment, and some inspiration, it has a lot of both. I first watched this when I went to Barcelona which would have been in about 2008. I went with Kurt Filippone, Wade Fyfe, and Ted Degros, it was a really fun crew to be out there skating with. Kurt or Wade had this extensive collection of DVD’s, I think one of them had gone to China and picked up loads of bootlegs. We were skating all day in the winter time, then the sun would go down at five or six, and we’d go back to the house to this binder full of movies, and documentaries. There were loads of things I had never seen, and Ali was one of them.
At that time I don’t think I knew anything about Muhammad Ali. I wasn’t particularly interested in boxing or anything like that. It had a good score, the same way the skate videos I like have a good soundtrack. That made a big difference for me, Ali having the soundtrack it did, that elevated it to another level of enjoyment. Muhammad Ali is such a cool character anyway, there’s an interesting documentary called When We Were Kings which is about the final fight with George Foreman in Zaire. I recommend watching that too.But having seen that documentary, and some others, and from watching some interviews with him after watching Ali gave me more of an appreciation for the movie. I think Will Smith did a really good job of acting in it, and playing that character.
Right down to the way he speaks.
Yeah it’s incredible. Muhammad Ali was an amazing person, his personality, the things he stood for, particularly his position on the Vietnam war. That was quite something to be a conscientious objector at that time. Some of the stuff he said was more controversial than others, but he was so young at the time. How do you navigate the things he was going through? He was in the Nation of Islam, learning about race, the dynamics of what was going on at that time. I think some of the things he said were just so accurate, so spot on. To take such a stand for a cause back then, to risk some of the best years of his life as a fighter, and his freedom, was unbelievable. That’s a really rare thing for an athlete to do, to put his sport of choice second to what he thought was right.
“To take such a stand for a cause back then, to risk some of the best years of his life as a fighter, and his freedom, was unbelievable. That’s a really rare thing for an athlete to do, to put his sport of choice second to what he thought was right”
It’s the ultimate sports story, you’re with him for the journey.
It really is the ultimate, it is unfortunate that the story of Muhammad Ali ends quit tragically, some of his later fights, and his neurological decline were really sad to see. But the pinnacle of the movie, the awesomeness is coming back from all of the legal stuff, getting off, getting out of the draft, and getting a shot back at the title. Even the loss to Smoking’ Joe Frazier. Like all great sports films, and stories, it can’t just be a perfect ride to the top. There have to be some problems, and he had a lot of them. There’s his fighting style, and the style he had of shit talking. Nowadays you have characters like Conor McGregor, and I get it that you want to sell tickets to the fights, but Muhammad Ali had a certain class with his shit talking. There was the back and forth with Howard Cosell. I felt like what he brought to the table was wholesome. He had his rhymes, things which were so charismatic, and really fucking funny.
I think the civil unrest of the time is well communicated by Michael Mann. You feel righteous indignation at what he was facing. Outrage at the racism, the draft, his unfair treatment…
I think Michael Mann was the right man for the job. Like you said there were all of these things happening at the time and he happens to be a boxer who is shaking everything up with a charisma, and style that no-one has seen. There’s such a conversion of things happening that make for the ultimate story. Being friends with Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X, and them both being shot at that time is wild. You couldn’t write a crazier story, and if you did you wouldn’t think it was true.
From that filming trip to Barcelona, the footage I got went towards a part I had in a video called Strange Brew. For that part I used the last song in the movie as my last song in the part. There’s even a little sound byte that the editor put in of Muhammad Ali speaking. It was a big part of the conversation on that trip to Barcelona, we were all super into it, myself in particular. I really enjoyed that movie, and it has this extra level of meaning, and sentimentality because that part was the first time I sunk my teeth into something and tried to make a complete piece of work. I saved up money to go to Barcelona, went out in Vancouver a lot with Kurt, and his dedication as a filmer was really appreciated.
This is a great movie, I’m glad to have watched it on your recommendation.
I still watch this film, a couple of times a year I’ll put it on. I think it’s time for me to watch it again. It’s incredibly written, all the actors did a great job. Jamie Foxx plays a hilarious character with his own issues. The story of the Cassius Clay name change is in there. There’s so much to it, the story is complex in multitude of ways, and Michael Mann did such a good job of getting into all of it. If I remember correctly Will Smith ended up having quite a good relationship with Muhammad Ali from spending time with him prior to playing that role, and after as well. It’s nice to know that he was happy with it.
The Righteous Mind – Jonathan Haidt (2012)
This looks like a poignant read, have you just put this one down?
Saving the best for last. I read this last year. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff wrote a book called The Coddling of the American Mind which got me interested in reading this one. I really like Jonathan Haidt, I’ve watched quite a few of his lectures, I enjoy his way of communicating, and the subjects he speaks about. He is a moral psychologist, currently he mostly speaks about social media, and the impact it has on kids. The subtitle of this book is “Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”. I have always been interested in politics, and religion, kind of anything that is controversial. Anything that has meaning, that some people believe in, and some people don’t. If there’s something people love or hate, I have always found it interesting learning, and engaging in deeper conversations about that.
What did you learn from this book?
It is super enlightening but it’s also quite a complicated book, and I plan on re-reading it. Some of the basic premises are looking at left versus right, and religious versus non-religious. Left versus right explores why some people are conservative, and some are liberal. Then what is the use of both in a society? On a deeper psychological level one of the points he brings up is that we all like to believe that we are rational thinkers. We ourselves believe that the rational comes before our intuition when faced with a situation, a circumstance, or an issue. He puts forth the proposition that we’re guided predominantly by our intuition, then we rationalise second.
This is something he took from David Hume, he provides examples from his own life where that’s been the case. It gave me a bit of an understanding of how I act in the world, the things I do, say, and communicate. I find learning things like that give you a needed alternative perspective on your programming. Not taking things as they are but questioning why you say things, or respond in certain ways. Is that really what I meant? Was I being honest? Or did I feel intuitively that this should be a certain way, then post hoc rationalise why that is rather than investigating it, and then responding. That may sound pretty abstract but the book has a better way of describing all of this.
Has it gifted you with more understanding when someone has ideas that are wildly different to your own?
That’s where it gets into conservative ideas versus liberal. He has something called moral foundations theory. There are six moral foundations, the first is care/harm, the second is fairness/cheating, the third is loyalty/betrayal, the fourth is authority/subversion, the fifth is sanctity/degradation, and the sixth is liberty/oppression. Liberals, and conservatives, people in general, all have some of all of those. Liberals are going to be higher in some, and lower in others, and vice versa.
Ideas which are subjective not black-and-white?
Very much so, and your interpretation of one of those foundations could be different. One of the best examples of that is fairness, as far as equality, and things like that. The left are more consumed with equality in an economic sense, the distribution of wealth. Conservatives tend to be more focused on proportionality, how hard are you working, and things of that nature. I found it really interesting, and helpful for myself. I grew up leaning far more towards the left, as for a political leaning anyway, being more concerned with social justice issues, and things of that nature. Over time, getting into to my thirties, having a baby, I’ve found myself definitely leaning to some more conservative values.
“It gave me a bit of an understanding of how I act in the world, the things I do, say, and communicate. I find learning things like that give you a needed alternative perspective on your programming”
I feel somewhat politically homeless to be honest, I don’t find myself to be a card carrying conservative, nor what I would consider a card carrying liberal. Learning about this stuff helped me understand this transformation, or the ongoing transformation that seems to be occurring in me. It teaches you to try and understand both sides which is what I want to do, and maintain, I don’t want to be on one side looking at the other as if they’re evil. I don’t think that’s helpful. He draws a comparison to the Yin and Yang which is appropriate, we don’t need to get rid of one of these, we need them both, because you need a combination for society to flourish. That combination requires things like stability, this is found in institutions, and a family structure. When you get rid of those things, looking at history, that’s when bad things start to happen. Yet, at the same time, you do have to be concerned with people who have less than you, the rights of people who are less fortunate. Trying to maintain an open perspective on that stuff, and avoiding an “us and them” false dichotomy is important. What could be more important in the context of politics than that right now. In this day and age we seem to be going in the complete opposite direction where things are becoming increasingly more polarised. The left believing you need to get rid of the right, and vice versa. It’s divisive, and ridiculous.
What about this in regards to religion?
With religion it’s very much the same. I grew up with my mum who is a Baháʼí, a pretty interesting faith. We would go to some of the events they had as kids, they were very low key, and community based. Looking back they were super neat, little prayer sessions, nothing indoctrinating. So I had a bit of influence from a religious front, and then my dad is definitely an atheist, and doesn’t have much room for anything religious. So I always had that yin and yang to begin with. Jonathan Haidt in the book, who considers himself to be on the left, and considers himself an atheist, makes a really good case for the positive aspects of religion, and for people being part of a religion. I think it’s good to hear stuff like that if you haven’t. I like Sam Harris, I listened to a ton of Christopher Hitchens when I was younger, and Stephen Fry. Listening to them debate religious scholars, I’ve always been drawn to that side of things. However, there’s clearly something really deeply valuable about being a part of something that binds you together, and religion does that almost like nothing else. Especially in a country like Canada, or the United States where it’s culturally very diverse, that can be hard to maintain when you don’t have a common thread.
But isn’t there also an element of being part of one religion that also asserts you’re in the right camp, and others are wrong?
That is certainly an issue amongst religious people, and religions in general but I don’t think that has to be the case. To me that would be negative part of a more extreme vision, or version of religion. We can integrate some live and let live within the religious context. The book is awesome for someone like me, I’m not a religious person but it has made me a lot more understanding of religious people, and enabled me to see something in it where I never could before. I can’t get past the idea of believing in some mystical being in the sky. I’ve never been able to find any interest in any of the stories. However, Carl Jung and people like that have talked about the archetypes of these religious stories, and have also helped change my perspective on some of it.
You don’t have to necessarily subscribe to a religion to be able to find something interesting about the stories it’s based on. The book gives you a deeper understanding of humanity, and why people think the way do. Again a large part of that involves a combination of genetic roulette, and environmental factors that make you value one of these moral foundations more than another. The big five personality traits feed into that also, extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Certain traits are associated with conservatism, and others more with being liberal. Those personality traits affect how you’re going to present yourself in the world, and act, and communicate. It’s interesting to figure out where you are on this spectrum of things, and how you can be less of one, and more of another. It’s a way to try and fix some inadequacies within yourself. It’s about being aware of this stuff, otherwise how can you fix something if you don’t understand it’s an issue?
So you think the world would be a better place if more people read this?
Absolutely, I think it would turn the dial of polarisation down a little bit if people would consider what’s discussed in this book. It’s a bit of a complicated read but as I get older I’m open to the idea of reading things twice. If you don’t feel like reading the book watch a video with Jonathan Haidt talking about this stuff, he’s an excellent communicator with a pleasant disposition.
How is skateboarding right now? You had some time out for healing?
I’m back now which is nice. I had a fracture in my good hand. My bad hand is fucked, I have a dead scaphoid. Some days it will be okay which means subtle pain, I can’t do certain things but I can do most things. Then other days it’s fired up, and hurts doing pretty much anything. I fractured my good hand so I was really trying to be more careful with the healing process. I need this thing, especially with a young child, you want to be able to pick them up, you want to have fun without worrying. That was over Christmas, and into the New Year but I’m skating again. There’s been tons of rain in Vancouver though, I’ve been trying to go to the gym a lot during the day or at night. If the rain doesn’t let up I’ll go for a run or do some kind of cardio. I’m just trying to be as ready and able as possible, so when the sun comes out I can enjoy that to the fullest.
Wristguards in the mix?
If my scaphoid hand is extra tender I’ll put a wristguard on but I don’t wear them every time I skate. The aesthetic of that hurts, if I’m wearing one I’ll wear a hoody so there’s just a tiny bit peeking through. It’s a tough one though, if I have a wristguard on it makes me try and dodge landing on my hand, but then I’ll slam harder on my hip or my back. If there’s anyone reading this who is wondering if they should get an X-Ray on their wrist that’s fucked up, I would recommend going to do that as soon as possible, getting a cast if you have to, and then taking the physio very seriously. I have some regrets, that’s for sure.
Spencer refusing to let rain stop play in Vancouver
On the health tip, are you still doing yoga?
I used to practise hot yoga, I did Bikram style yoga a lot.I really like doing that I just don’t have the time right now. It’s an hour and a half class, you want to get there a bit early, and you don’t want to rush out. With the commute to the studio in the mix it’s three hours which I just don’t have right now. I do a ton of yoga at home now, I do specific yoga poses for how I’m feeling at the time. Some are really subtle, I’ve sat cross-legged for this whole interview, and I find that helps. I don’t know why yin and yang always comes up in my world but yin yoga is another style of practise, you do the postures for an extended amount of time, it’s meant to get into joints, ligaments, and connective tissue. So a saddle pose which is like a pancake split, sitting cross-legged, certain things I will do for twenty minutes or more. It’s less dynamic, a static, passive stretch. It has a lot of calming properties to it as well.
I’m not doing this stuff instead of working out, you’ve got to lift weights, and train your body in a rigorous physical way as well. I find the static, passive stuff, gets hated on by a lot of people but I figure you could sit on a couch, or sit cross-legged on the floor, or in a saddle pose. I find I get a lot out of doing that versus lying on the couch. If I’m going to relax I want to find the most effective way. The dragon lizard pose is more dynamic, getting into the hip flexors, and the quads, it requires a bit more engagement. I do that, and pigeon pose quite a bit also. Some of these I do in a yin style where I’m just relaxing, and others I’ll do with weights, moving through a range of motion, and adding a resistance element to it. That has been an interesting addition to my practise that I find quite valuable.
What is on the horizon that you’re excited about? Are there Primitive and New Balance projects on the cards?
I’m not sure exactly what the year looks like as far as New Balance but they always have something cooking, and I would love to get on a trip with them. Primitive is celebrating it’s tenth year. They just put out the am video, and this year is tenth anniversary year, I’m excited to get on whatever trips they have planned for that too.
Spencer’s Vancouver part for Primitive from 2021. We look forward to seeing mark two
Your Vancouver part was sick, will you be filming another part there?
I’m actually going to be working on another Vancouver part. The last part was filmed with a VX, I’d like to film the next one with an HVX or HPX with a nice big lens. My friend Chance [Swainson] who filmed the last part is going to work on it with me, he has one of those HD rigs. I’d like to put out a new & improved, upgraded Vancouver part this year. That usually consists of skating the same spots, and trying to upgrade my tricks too, so that’s always fun.
Have new spots materialised in the meantime?
There are a couple actually, they’re few and far between in Vancouver because they’re really good at making any new spots relatively un-skateable. There are some new ones though so hopefully it will be some new spots, and some old classics. I like going out skating on my bike these days, it’s so much easier. Whether I’m in New York, or Spain, I like the idea of not getting in a car. I just like to be out, keeping the body moving. There’s a a campus here called UBC, the university of British Columbia. It’s not too far away but you have to drive. There are a ton of spots there so I need to make more of an effort to drive out there and skate.
We look forward to seeing the results. Any last words?
I think we covered a lot. I’m glad my brain kept up.
We would like to thank Spencer Hamilton for the time he spent on this, it was great to catch up and learn more about some things which have played an important part in his life journey. We can’t wait for another full part now that he is back firing on all cylinders. Keep an eye on Spencer’s Instagram for the regular transmissions that have been keeping us inspired.
Previous ‘Offerings’ Interviews: Aaron Herrington, Rowan Zorilla, Beatrice Domond, Chris Jones, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long, Helena Long, Tom Karangelov, Bobby Puleo, Ray Barbee, Zach Riley, Ryan Lay, Casper Brooker